Cantina Benanti

Sicily in March is verdant and lush. Among grapevines, emerging from their winter hibernation, grow grass and bright yellow flowers. The island is covered with orange groves and the pale pink of almond trees in bloom.

Grapes have probably been grown on the flanks of Mount Etna in Sicily since the first agricultural civilizations set foot on the island, no later than the 8th century B.C.  Seals found on the amphorae littering ancient shipwrecks on the floor of the Mediterranean indicate that Sicilian viticulture was very prosperous by the 2nd century B.C.

The slopes of Mount Etna, high above the ocean provide ideal conditions for grape growing: excellent sunlight; low rainfall; and shifts in temperature between day and night that favor slow complex flavor development in grapes. The soil that sits in thin layers above hardened lava flows drains extremely well and causes the vines to struggle mightily for both water and nutrients.

Few places evoke their terroir as do the vineyards on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily. That quality is tied tightly to three factors on Mount Etna: altitude, exposure and terroir.  Vineyards work their way up Mount Etna’s slopes, rising to about 1,100 meters (Etna currently rises to 3329 meters). Until about 400 meters, the vines are planted on clay and sand soils; but above this level on up to 900 meters Etna’s primary red variety, Nerello Mascalese, and its blending partner, Nerello Cappuccio, really thrive.  Clay and sand give way to volcanic soils, gravelly pebbles gradually transition to increasingly fine, volcanic sand as you climb the mountain.  The range of elevations, the variety of exposures and the unique microclimates present on Mount Etna result in an intriguing range of terroirs.  Nerello Mascalese expresses these distinctive sites, and its bright red fruit, herb and spice character is often expressed on a base of minerality.  Like Pinot Noir, Nerello Mascalese is thin-skinned and delicate, but Nerello’s tannins are more akin to those of Barolo’s Nebbiolo.  Etna's vineyards extend from north to southwest, lying primarily on the eastern side of the mountain. Harvest is typically from mid to late October, though for some producers, it extends into early November. Nerello Mascalese responds to the long hang time, which allows for overall maturity and complete ripening to develop its Nebbiolo-like tannins.

Above 900 meters, Etna’s highest-elevation vineyards are largely dedicated to white wine production and the local Carricante grape. The looser character of Etna’s volcanic soils encourages root development, and they remain well-drained yet store enough water for the dry summer months.

The Benanti family has been tending some of the islands oldest vines since Giuseppe Benanti took over his father's farm and began expanding the grape acreage in the late 1890s. For more than a century, the family passed both name and the care of the vineyards from grandfather to father to son. Giuseppe Benanti revived winemaking under the family's name (rather than just selling grapes) in the late 1980's and his two sons Antonio and Salvino have since joined him. Together they work the family's vineyards on the southeastern slopes of Mt Etna, producing low yields from vines that are at least 80 years old on average, but some are much older.  Most of the winery's vines are head-trained in the ancient albarelo method.

The oldest vineyard sits at the top of a hill overlooking the winery. These 100+ year-old Carricante and and Nerello Mascalese vines sit at about 450 meters on the southeast slopes of the volcano. This exposure means they tend to be warmer than the rest of Etna, leading Benanti to generally be the first to harvest grapes on the mountain each year.  The winery also owns vineyards on the northern side of the mountain, in the area known as Rovitello, as well as elsewhere in Sicily.

The grapes are usually destemmed completely and then fermented with native yeasts in steel tanks (for the whites) or large old oak vats (for the reds), then transferred to old oak barrels of varying sizes for aging. Benanti uses mostly two and three year-old French oak barrels.  Despite the winery's small size (producing only about 10,000 cases each year), they are among the best known of Etna's producers, thanks to being some of the earliest pioneers in Etna's relatively short modern history of wine production.  The winery is best known for its white wine, Pietramarina, which is made from 100% old-vine Carricante, an indigenous Sicilian white grape, and their Serra della Contessa red wine made from Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappucio.  In the 2007 the Gambero Rosso Guide bestowed its ‘Winery of the Year’ awarded to Benanti. This award reflects the passion and commitment of Giuseppe Benanti for winemaking and the pioneering work for the wines of Mount Etna.  In 1988 he began a five year investigation into local varietals, soils and oenological techniques. He thus determined the ideal conditions for the nerello mascalese, nerello cappuccio and carricante grapes which comprise most Benanti wines.

Visitors are welcome by prior appointment.  Guided tours of the vineyards, wine tasting and lunch may be arranged upon request.  The winery also accommodates groups and guided tours in English may be requested accordingly.  Benanti is located at Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 361, 95029 Viagrande CT, Italy about 45 minutes north of Catania.  Phone: +39 095 789 0928

Below are photos of a painted Sicilian horse cart preserved on the property.

Catania

Mt Etna  rising above Catania

Catania is located on the east coast of the island of Sicily, at the foot of Mount Etna.  The symbol of the city is u Liotru, or the Fontana dell'Elefante, assembled in 1736 by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini. It portrays an ancient lavic stone elephant and is topped by an Egyptian obelisk from Syene. Legend has it that Vaccarini's original elephant was neuter, which the men of Catania took as an insult to their virility. To appease them, Vaccarini appropriately appended elephantine testicles to the original statue.  

The city has been buried by lava a total of seventeen times in recorded history, and in layers under the present day city are the Roman city that preceded it, and the Greek city before that.  Catania is famous for its splendid Baroque and Rococo architecture. The city's building material consisted mainly of gray lava stone.  

It is also famous for its fish market.  The best way to understand the importance of seafood on the Sicilian table is to visit the fish market in Catania, which is as old as the ancient city itself.  This is just a quick stop to take in the fish market and have a café.

One way to get more involved as a tourist is to buy something.  The vendors were happy to shuck a oyster for you.

Anchovies fileted while you wait

Teatro dei Pupi

Opera dei Pupi (Puppet Theatre) is a traditional form of Sicilian entertainment, originating as far back as the 15th century, marionettes were a popular form of medieval entertainment.  Mostly, theatres produced tales relating to local legends and historical events, the most popular of these featured fictional heroes from the Norman conquests: Ruggiero defending the honour of his lover Bradamante, sister of Rinaldo, or Tancredi’s fight to death with the mighty Saracen Argante.  The pioneer of the puppet opera in Syracuse was Francesco Puzzo, who made the his first puppet in 1875.  He debuted his creation in a basement on the island of Ortygia.  Francesco ceased performing in 1917, but four years later his sons, led by Ernesto, revived the puppet theater.  In 1923, a young pastry chef by the name of Rossario Vaccaro (Saro) opened a shop across the street from the Puzzo brothers. The puppets intrigued Saro.  Despite the exclusionary tradition of the trade, he managed to gain acceptance and began studying under Ernesto, learning how to construct puppets and armor, paint scenery, write scripts, and produce the necessary advertise materials for shows.  Saro abandoned pastry and began building puppets in a small workshop on Ortigia.  In the 1970’s his brother, Alfredo, a talented papier-mâché craftsman and movie operator, joined the venture.  The Vaccaro brothers performed in the streets and squares, wherever they could attract a crowd, intent on reviving interest in the tradition of puppet opera.  Finally, in 1978, thirty years after the closing performance of Ernesto Puzzo, the Vaccaros staged a show at the church of San Giovannello, in the Jewish Quarter of Ortygia. Following its enormous success, the city donated space in an old convent in the historic center for a permanent Opra dei Pupi theater. Saro died in the spring of 1984 but Alfredo carried on until, in 1990, a severe earthquake damaged their theater beyond repair. Once again the puppets were without a home.  In their place, Alfredo crafted new papier-mâché creatures with rough features and cold glass eyes. Once again he turned to the streets, squares, and schools to perform, now accompanied by his grandson, Alfredo Mauler.  

His grandson Alfredo resurrected the puppets and converted a shop in the old Jewish Quarter into Teatro dei Pupi. The Puppet Museum, just down the street from the theater, is also run by the family, as is the workshop where Daniel creates all the puppets.  Alfredo Mauceri has written and produced 24 shows over the years for Teatro dei Pupi.  His mother Francesca Vaccaro, does all the female voices and his brother, Daniel, builds the puppets.  He writes the story and is a puppeteer during the show, along with Daniel and one other relative. Together, the three of them move the characters during the show, sometimes one in each hand.  His love of the puppets grew out of a strong bond with his grandfather, Alfredo Vaccaro.  As a young boy he had accompanied his grandfather when he staged puppet shows in the market square on Ortygia Island. Gradually, his grandfather allowed him to work with the characters.  Within three months he learned to move the puppets, but it took years to get the emotion and sensation of the characters. Below are more photos and a short trailer video of a performance unfortunately I was not filming for any of the decapitations, quite clever and requiring some coordination between puppeteers.

The theater is located on Via Della Giudecca 17/19, in the Old City, located on Ortygia Island. Two shows are performed daily, from March to November. As the theater is quite small, seating no more than 20, reservations are strongly recommended. Call 0931 465540, or stop by between the hours of 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Their website http://www.pupari.com is only in Italian.  All the plays are traditional stories adapted and written by the Vaccaro-Mauceri family and performed in Italian with a few lines of Sicilian dialect added for good measure.  Each performance lasts for approximately 30 minutes, making them suitable for children to enjoy.  At the bottom of this post are three professional videos of the teatro, museo, and include interviews with Alfredo Mauler.